Welcome to the New Stampin' Up! Year!

It's exciting that our new catalogue is being uploaded at Stampin' Up! headquarters overnight!

By the morning, you should be able to access all the new products and supplies, stamps, In Colours, inks, papers, dies, markers, cardstock, designer series paper and so much more!

There will be many surprises, and it is always so exciting to me to have a refresh of my crafting supplies.

Enjoy browsing the new catalogue and placing your first order for the new Stampin' Up! year with me!

Happy Mother's Day, Bright Spark!

This year I wanted to do a funny card for my mother. She has a real sense of humour and while she likes heartfelt cards too, she loves to have a laugh. So it was the perfect chance to use a new stamp set that I got from attending the Stampin' Up! Demonstrator's On Stage Live event, called Pun Intended. 

I made the light behind the street lamp with a sponge and some Daffodil Delight ink.

The sentiment from Teeny Tiny Sentiments is embossed in gold and some of the gold embossing powder also adhered to the lamp switch, which was serendipitous! The card base is one of the new in colours for this year, Emerald Envy.

Here's the punchline, inside the card. I changed it to read We' instead of 'I' as the card was from both DH and I:

I know it made her laugh!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone who is a mother or mother-like, and a special hug for those whose mother is no longer with us. It must be a hard day for you folk and my heart goes out to you. ♥

Becky Higgins!

I got to meet Becky Higgins at my local Spotlight store this week :) She is so nice! We made a few pocket pages a la Project Life and she answered everyone's questions about anything and everything. Then she signed post cards and canvases for us and posed for photos too. Her crew were also marvelous and friendly. What a good afternoon!

Here I am with Becky Higgins:

 And here is a sneaky peek at the pages I made on the day:

I also discovered that there is a Becky Higgins Project Life APP! And you can get the Stampin' Up! Project Life KITS on it! I downloaded the app right away and will be experimenting with it, maybe making page layouts on my phone. You can get your pages printed at Big W. How about that??

Thanks, Becky and crew. You gave me a very special memory.

Anzac Day

Bunny Invasion

A blog I like to go see now and then is Qbee's Quest. She is such a clever woman who makes wonderful papercraft projects and tells you how to make them! Her bunny cards were so cute, I made them for all my grandchildren and one special person last night. Some of the stamp sets Qbee used are not in my collection yet so I improvised with the faces and drew my own.  Likewise with the framelits I didn't have. I improvised. Once you have a crafting idea, you can usually make something similar using your existing supplies, right?

I used various colours of pink and blue cardstock and their matching or coordinating Stampin' Write! markers, plus some Wink of Stella for the noses and ears. I used my oval, circle and heart framelits, and I used oval, tiny flower and owl punches to create the rest. I forgot to take a picture of the back of one of these cards. Each has a Whisper White tail.

 

Happy Easter!

Make Your Own Rub Ons

I know rub ons aren't that commonly used any more, but I was reminded of their versatility recently when I wanted to add a sentiment that I didn't have a stamp for to a piece that I could not put through the printer. That's when knowing how to make your own rub ons or transfers is so handy! I made a tutorial for you about this very thing at PaperCraftCentral.

Here's a cute little bookmark I made with the technique. I added the sentiment on the tag by using a home made rub on. I hand made the rose too but that is a story for another day. The stamped flowers came form the Botanicals For You stamp set. I used Whisper White, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango and Pool Party cardstock for this project, and the Scalloped Tag Topper punch.

Just click on the link to the tutorial to find out how to customise your own sentiments and images with your computer, printer, a paddle pop stick and a Window Sheet!

All supplies but the ribbon are available from Stampin' Up! at this time.

Flower Fair Window Card

Making a pretty garden come to life in a window is possible when you have the right stamp set and framelits, and inspiration from Lisa Wilkinson. Lol!

I stamped out flowers and leaves from the Flower Patch stamp set using various inks (Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo, Wisteria Wonder, Elegant Eggplant, Certainly Celery and Wild Wasabi) and cut it out with Flower Fair framelits. I made my card base square with Melon Mambo and Blushing Bride cardstock, and ran some Whisper White through my Big Shot with the Brick Wall embossing folder to make the wall as my first card layer.

Then I cut and matted a window frame with my Paper Trimmer and some Melon Mambo cardstock. I ran a scored line inside my frame so it looked more like a casement.

Finally I added all the flowers and leaves, popping them up with Stampin' Dimensionals. I made the sentiment banner, folding the ends back on themselves, and added my greeting from Teeny Tiny Sentiments before popping it up too.

I wanted to make the inside of the card special too so added some retired Washi Tape, another flower and a sentiment form God's Blessings.

Happy Stampin!

Corner Garden Card

I needed a sympathy card unfortunately, and I wanted to make it as beautiful as I could for the lady left behind. I thought of the Corner Garden stamp set almost immediately as it has such lush floral images.  I imagined it on a white, dry embossed background, and then I saw a card on the web made by a beautiful crafter who I cannot now remember. I did change my card a bit as I only glimpsed the other crafter's card, and it stuck in my head about what I wanted to do. I would have liked to acknowledge whoever made the card that inspired me and will have to be more careful in future to remember.

I started with a square piece of Whisper White, stamping the image onto it in Basic Black. I used various ink colours to bring the flowers to life with my aqua painter. The deeper colours on some flowers are areas where I went over them twice with the same ink colour. This was a labour of love and took me a little while to do, but it was worth it.

I added some discrete shimmer with my Wink of Stella clear pen. After I was happy with the flowers and everything was dry, I ran the stamped piece through my Big Shot with my decorative Dots embossing folder. After that I mounted it on some Pacific Point cardstock and a Whisper White card base.

I stamped and punched out my sentiment and mounted it on the front of the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. Then I made an envelope with my Envelope Punch Board but I forgot to take a photo of that.

Hope you like it.

RIP, my friend.

The Kissing Technique

Learning different papercrafting techniques can be fun. If you have not heard about extending the use of your stamps by using the Kissing Technique, I have a page for you that tells you how to achieve that effect. It's a good way to make very interesting images for your projects.

Valentine's Day is Coming!

Valentine's Day is a short time away and I have been playing with heart themed images in my craft room. I have been thinking about other projects I have made fro this lovely day, such as the heart shaped chocolate box and this lovely anniversary card, and I also have been thinking about the kissing technique for rubber stamping. But the one thing I have done so far is to make an image for a card with the  new Bloomin' Love stamp set (item number 140643 from my SusanSalutations shop). Isn't it pretty?

This set comes with a bundle and that includes the stamp set and a beautiful lacy framelit, and you can get matching coordinating papers and embellishments too. I was silly and only ordered the stamp set at first, and now I am waiting for the framelit to arrive in a separate order! I hope it gets here soon.

What are you making for Valentine's Day this year?

Christmas 2015

I may have been quiet on my blog but I haven't been idle in the craft room! Lol! I have made a number of cards this year and thought I would post a few designs up for you to see, in case you need last minute inspiration. All supplies used are from Stampin' Up! and most supplies are in current catalogues. Lots of items are discounted or on sale this month too, so if you have some crafting needs, it might be the time to shop. You can check out all supplies at SusanSalutations, anytime day or night!

Now for the cards:

Happy crafting! Merry Christmas!

Kind Koala Goes Wild

I just love the Kind Koala stamp. It is fun to emboss and colour it in. I like to scribble on a stamp block with my Stampin' Write markers and then pick up the colour with an Aqua Painter to colour my images. That's what I did with this particular Kind Koala. I embossed him in black and aqua painted him in Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette and a touch of So Saffron. His nose and the pretty flower (in Melon Mambo) needed a little lift, I thought, so I added a layer of Crystal Effects to those areas and waited for them to dry completely. It is really best to wait overnight for Crystal Effects laid on thick like this to dry, especially in the Wet Season when the air is so humid.

The Go Wild designer series paper went so well with my Kind Koala! I love how it is a neutral coloured paper stack and it goes with so many different images and colours. I'm really glad I bought that particular paper stack :)

 My card base is folded a little short so the back shows through to the front. I used Crumb Cake cardstock for the base and added a layer of Basic Black and Melon Mambo cardstock to my Kind Koala image, which is popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals and finished off with a Whisper White Seam Binding bow.

Once he was finished, my Kind Koala was sent off to a friend to add a touch of cheer to her day.

Why not send someone a cheery card you've made today? I think the world needs more kindness and cheer right now.

So Many Specials!

Psst! I just had to tell you about the specials and promotions available from today!

First of all, Stampin' Up! is discounting selected stamp sets from the 16th to the 20th November. That's now! You can see everything on special at my Shopping page, where you click on '20% off Stamps'.

As well, the Seasonal Catalogue ends soon, and items are retiring out of that already. Goodies in the Seasonal Catalogue will be available only while stocks last until January 4th, so be sure to purchase your favourites before they are gone forever!

Happy shopping!

Make a Card - it's World Cardmaking Day!

Did you know that today is World Cardmaking Day? If you get a chance to make a card, remember it is a special day for cardmakers all over the world. It's a day set aside for making hand made cards! Founded by Paper Crafts magazine to bring card makers together at the beginning of the busiest card-making season of the year, it was first held on October 7, 2006, just for subscribers to Paper Crafts Magazine. Since there was such a positive response, it became a holiday for card makers from then on!

So celebrate today and make a handmade card for someone special in your life. Nothing expresses your feelings and love so much as a heartfelt handmade card! Happy World Card Making Day!

Stamping on Embossing Folders

Did you know that you can create beautiful cards by stamping on embossing folders? I didn't until this month when I saw a beautiful card done by a fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator. I immediately wanted to try it out. I wasn't disappointed. All supplies are from Stampin' Up! in the example below and in case you want to order any supplies I have given you the item numbers for the main tools  I used in my project.

 Here I used the gorgeous Woodland Textured Impressions embossing folder (item number 139673) with my Brayer (item number 102395) and my Butterfly Basics (item number 132058) stamp set to make my card. I brayered two colours over the embossing fodler first, making sure the colour went on to the background. I used Soft Sky and Crumb Cake ink. Then I stamped my butterflies on top of the brayered ink in Perfect Plum. Next I added Whisper Whits cardstock to the embossing folder, being careful not to move it once it hit the ink, and ran it through my Big Shot. After it was embossed, I used my Stampin' Write! markers to add extra detail and shadowing.

Of course I made my own envelope with the Envelope Punch Board (item number 133774) to make my custom sized envelope. I used a punched shape from my Elegant Butterfly punch (item number 127526) as a closer. Just pop it up with a Stampin' Dimensional and the corner of your envelope flap will fit right underneath.

So what do you think? Have you tried stamping on an embossing folder yet? How did it work for you?

Dressing up envelopes

Do you dress up your envelopes when you are stamping? I like to. This one is an orphan envelope though. I was using the Wetlands stamp set the other night and made a card or two, then decided to dress up my envelope with a stamp from the set too. I just stamped the image in Tip Top Taupe and added water with a Pool Party Stampin' Write! marker. I liked the effect.

The trouble was, when I tried to put my new card in the envelope, it was too big!

So I measured my card and made myself a big enough envelope for that card using the Envelope Punch Board. Problem solved!

Except now I need to make a card than fits my orphaned envelope  Work, work work. A crafter's job is never done.

Thankfully!

Join Stampin' Up!

If anyone who lives in Australia is thinking of joining Stampin' Up! there is just one week left to take advantage of the fantastic joining special:

* Not only do you get a great deal on the starter kit (pay $169 and get over $200 worth of goodies) you also get two free stamp sets of your choice!

* You also get an extra 10% off your first order!

This deal is over on July 1st and I don't know when anything like it will be offered again, so I urge you to consider it now before it disappears! You can join here.

I'd love to have you on the Craft Sister's team!

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More layouts for my Album Gift

I enjoyed making these layouts for my friend's 18th birthday present album. It was really not too hard once I found a pack of designer series papers and some page layouts that I liked. In fact, some friends tell me they scrap better when they decorate the page first, THEN find the photos, so maybe there are distinct advantages to traditional scrapping this way! Thanks again to Stampin' Up! for the supplies and Pagemaps for the sketches, I was off and running:

This  layout was meant for a square photo. I liked the little squares of paper on it and of course carried over my butterfly embellishment:

This one was a double layout made especially for party pictures. There are spaces for many photos on this page, and of course, opportunities to tell the story:

Because it was a party, I thought the pennant banner went particularly well with the layout. Also, I made that little medallion in the lower right using a circle of Whisper White cardstock, the Hogsbreath logo cut form a serviette, and some Mod Podge. Some of the embellishments on this page are non Stampin' Up! ones, such as the little glitter heart.

The cover of the album, purchased by my friends who doubled with me to create this gift, also had a window for a picture, so I left it as it was except for adding a little birthday love message. The birthday girl can add a photo of her own to the cover. The album was also black and white which fit in with the party location and the papers and cardstock I chose (this album is also non-Stampin' Up!):

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the layouts for this album. There are of course many more pages in the book for my friend to fill up in her own way.

Have you ever made a similar project? If so, I'd love to hear about it and visit your blog post about it. Tell me your story in the comments!

More 18th Birthday Album Layouts

I just realised I had not yet posted more of the album layouts I promised you! I'll do that right now :) If you missed the first two pages, they are in a post below this one.

The next page was a page just for the birthday girl's portrait. I chose a layout that would take an 8" x 10" photo. I used similar papers and embellishments to follow the theme I started with the title page. The young woman has blond hair so I thought the teal colours would do her justice.

Then I thought 'who would be most important in her life?' and decided you can't go past family! That's why I chose the family page to do next. I left room for a couple of smaller photos and some journaling so  she could tell the story of how important they are to her, and thank them for her special day.

Don't you love the circle banner? It was fun to make, too. Again. I chose colours that fit in with my theme and used papers that complimented previous pages.

Next time I will show you a double layout made just to showcase her party!